Fig. 2.

A 71-year-old female patient with T12, L1 tuberculosis. Isolated posterior instrumentation for the spinal tuberculosis without radical debridement. a,b Preoperative plain radiograph and 3D CT demonstrating bone erosion at the inferior portion of the T12 and superior portion of L1 vertebral bodies. c Preoperative T2-weighted MRI revealing areas of high signal intensity can be seen at the involved bodies, abscess, and the paravertebral soft tissue mass. d Plain radiograph 1 week postoperatively. Only long-segment posterior instrumentation was performed without extensive decompressive surgery. e Postoperative 3D CT obtained at the 17-month follow-up demonstrating that the transpedicular instrumentation has not loosened. f Postoperative T2-weighted MRI at the 17-month follow-up examination revealing almost complete disappearance of the paravertebral soft tissue mass and abscess, and normalization of the signal intensity of the L2 and L3 vertebral bodies. However, absence of trabeculae inside the solid mass implies that there is no strong evidence of fusion in the L2 and L3 vertebral bodies.